IOU
by eyak
Summary: He opened the door to a pretty young woman, whose chestnut-colored hair was the tiniest bit disheveled and whose deep brown eyes had the faintest hint of desperation, holding a car battery jump starter. Molly x Bachelor, You chose which one! Oneshot AU


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harvest Moon. Just writing for fun, and for the enjoyment of the readers.

Yes, you can use any bachelor you please (although some may fit into the story better than others)

Based On Animal Parade/ Tree of Tranquility

AU (Takes place in an unnamed present-day city)

IOU.

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><p>"You are so amazing. I honestly can't imagine my time here without you." He said, giving her the smile that first drew her in. The woman's heart fluttered in response and she smiled.<p>

They are a couple in the early stages of love, no doubt. Nothing new. People have been falling in love for as long as they can remember. The woman giggles, and takes the man's hand. He kisses her hand smoothly, just as a modern Casanova would, practicing his famed art of seduction.

Another young man walks in the bar, the couple looks at him, time slows down and the girl stutters and looks down at her feet.

"We're not doing anything…" She lamely tries to explain, the happiness- and honesty- in her eyes faltering.

The intruding man's eyes give it all away. Shock, betrayal and anger flash in his eyes all at the same time. He gives an annoyed scoff and rolls his eyes. He should have known this has happening. The numerous phone calls, the last minute plans, the way she stopped looking him straight in the eyes. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew it was happening and he couldn't do anything to stop it. The dejected young man ran his fingers through his hair and mindlessly walked back to his house, filled with mixed emotions and a mind full of thoughts.

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><p><em>Bachelor's POV<em>

…_**Knock knock knock…**_

A rapid knock at the door awakens the poor man who had a rough night. His head hurts and the light flooding into the room from the window momentarily blinds him. He groans, looking at the clock, _8:10_. It was too early to be up today. It was 8:10 on a Monday morning. Specifically, the first Monday morning after the weekend that he found his girlfriend- or rather, _ex_-girlfriend- "not doing anything" with the womanizer who spends his summers in a small town nobody's ever heard of.

_He's probably got all the girls in the other town wrapped around his finger, too._

The young man grumbled as he, quite literally, rolled out of bed.

…_**Knock knock knock knock….**_

"Be right there" The man said, getting off the floor and pulling on a white t-shirt over his bare chest.

He opened the door to a pretty young woman, whose chestnut-colored hair was the tiniest bit disheveled and whose deep brown eyes had the faintest hint of desperation, holding a car battery jump starter.

"Hi! Thank goddess you answered! You're the only one who answered and I have to meet my best friend in 45 minutes to help plan her wedding and she's freaking out about her color scheme clashing against the boutonnieres- whatever _that_ is- that just arrived and my car won't start and I've been trying to get someone to help me, but it seems that everyone is either asleep or ignoring me purposefully… So… uhh…can I get a jump?" She stopped, smiled, chuckled lightly and caught her breathe, "Oh yeah... I'm Molly."

The man stared at her, still half asleep and sort of introduced himself; well he really just grumbled his name. She looked at him, clearly confused and just waved it off, not actually understanding what he said in the first place. Waving her hand in front of his face, she sighed and waited for an answer. Molly daintily cleared her throat.

"Ahem…"

Coming to his senses, the man nodded, still registering her words in his mind, and grabbed his car keys and a sweatshirt hanging on a hook. They walked outside and the girl looked at him.

"Are you alright?"

He gave her a look, "What do you mean? You're the one with the car problem."

"I guess so…" She blinked, not fully expecting an answer from him. As she lifted the hood of her car, he was finally able to take a look at the stranger. She was quite short, coming up to just below his chin. Her hair was more groomed than when she was at his door and a yellow flower clip held it in place for the time being. She wore a pale pink dotted dress with brown leather boots that made her legs look amazing.

"Oh and I live there!" She proclaimed, pointing at the town home apartment just three houses away from his.

He smiled slightly, "and you already know where _I_ live…"

She jokingly rolled her eyes; her cheeks reddened a little, "_Ha-_ha, look who has jokes now."

They hooked up their cars to the jumper and he started his. Molly's eyes brightened when her car's engine roared to life. She seemed as delicate and cheery as a flower in the springtime, and even if he didn't want to admit it, her smile was contagious.

"Thank you," She turned to face her body to him, "this really means a lot to me that you would help me. I mean, I _am _a stranger, afterall." Her eyes looked straight into his, "And whatever happened, I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

"It's no big deal." The man replied, uncomfortable and taken aback by the sudden confrontation.

"You're a good guy, you know that? Even if you didn't even tell me your name yet," She raised an eyebrow to him and laughed, "I'll see you around, and count on it because I owe you!" She loaded up in her car and looked at the clock, _8:25._ She smiled shyly at the young man through her rear view mirror and sped off.

He was left standing in front of her house and smiled a little bit, shaking his head in disbelief. She made such a big impact on him in such a short period of time, and she didn't even know his name. He was going to walk with a spring in his step today though, deciding on making the most out of this newfound good mood. Molly had brightened up his day and he was not going to let anyone ruin it. He went inside to get ready for work. Nothing was going to bother him today, not even his petty ex-girlfriend or her slimy playboy of a lover.

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><p>The young man, who worked hard after his encounter with the girl who intrigued him so much, came home from work with a little smirk on his face. He had passed by his ex-girlfriend who was giving her modern-day Romeo a glare and a few unrepeatable words to match. But nope, he wasn't going to stop by to talk to them, not today or anytime soon, and he just walked by as they watched, almost entranced by his every move.<p>

He got to his doorstep, reaching into his pocket for his house key, when a paper sticking out of his mailbox caught his attention. He grabbed the paper and unfolded it.

_I O U._

_-Molly_

He walked inside and sat on his couch, playing with the paper in his hands. After a few moments, he walked out his door and knocked on hers.

She answered the door still wearing her outfit from earlier, running her hand through her hair.

"Hey, Molly," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh! Hi Stranger," Molly smiled, immediately recognizing him. Even he laughed at that, noting that once again, he still hasn't properly introduced himself.

"Listen, do you want to have dinner sometime? You do owe me!"

"I'd be delighted to," She beamed, "Come by here tomorrow around 7-ish? I make a mean vegetable pizza. Plus you still owe me your name."

He nodded, but then paused, "But won't that mean that the score still isn't tied? I'm giving you my name _and _helping with your car?"

She thought about it for a second, "Hmm…You're right… I guess we'll just have to find a way to make it even then!" She laughed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." He said as turned around to head home. He smiled and waved in her direction.

"You can count on that!" She replied, leaning on the door frame, winking and waving back.

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><p>Hello! I tried to make the male character as ambiguous as I could without having him lack a personality. So hopefully I did okay. Sorry if the pronouns were confusing in any way, I wanted to leave as much of it to the imagination as possible.<p>

I want to know who you decided the characters to be in your mind! (Besides Molly of course) Leave a review with that and your thoughts.

Thanks!

-Kaye


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